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History of Print Media and Its Role in Society

Better Essays

Adrian Radomski

Dr. Cusumano

CMA 9

12/16/2012

The History of Print Media and its Role Among Business’, Government and Society In an age when innovation is constantly adding to how we define mass media, print media has seemed to maintain its role and presence in our society. In a basic and simplistic way, businessdictionary.com defines print media as “the industry associated with the printing and distribution of news through newspapers, magazines and books”. Collectively, books, magazines and newspapers are some of the oldest and most basic forms of mass communication. Each one of these sources individually play’s an important role in our daily lives by providing readers with news, entertainment and information. Additionally, …show more content…

The greater utilization of photographic print technology now gave readers more than just a page full of words. It allowed for them to see pictures of products being advertised and the people and events being discussed in the articles. In essence, it allowed readers to further engage in the contexts of magazines, giving more blossom to an already blooming flower. The quote “Books open your mind, broaden your mind, and strengthen you as nothing else can” by author William Feather, gives an accurate perception as to how books are perceived in society today. Books are sources of knowledge and are looked at as stepping-stones to becoming well-educated and successful in life. When books were first introduced to American culture the perception was skewed far from what it is today. People were skeptical of books and thought that reading promoted laziness. Rather than promoting to read books, people felt that reading wasted valuable time that could be spent making money. Eventually though, novels became a popular and cheap form of entertainment to the general public. The stories appealed to the working class and featured outlaws, detectives, factory workers and prostitutes as characters. In particular, women were early heavy consumers of literature and poetry, as they

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